East Meadow just misses in 4x55 hurdles

East Meadow's 4x55-meter shuttle hurdle team of Chris Garzia, Kyle Bettex, Tom Ford and Tom Milian came within a hair's length of being national champions at the National Scholastic Championships at The Armory Saturday.

Second place and All-American status would have to suffice, as their time of 30.89 was only two one-hundredths of a second behind champion Christian Brothers (NJ).

"We thought we could beat Christian Brothers," East Meadow coach Jim McGlynn said. "It was disappointing. I don't want to make any excuses, but we were pretty banged up toward the end of the year."

Among those with injuries was anchor leg Milian, who recently separated his shoulder and was questionable to run until Thursday.

Milian was among the Jets who, on Jan. 15 at the Stanner Games, set a Long Island record in the event with a time of 30.57.

That run to history, which is still the fastest time in the U.S. this season, came during healthier times.

"Had we run that today, we would've won it," McGlynn said.

Injuries aside, McGlynn and his charges are not content with second place. Fortunately, they can heal and prepare for the outdoor season, where they will be among the favorites to win nationals.

Runner-up disappointment should only serve to fuel the Jets.

"Let me tell you this: we're extremely hungry," McGlynn said. "East Meadow has never had a team of this caliber. Our goal is to win a national championship. We're going to stay with it, and we have one more crack at it."

Also in the 4x55 shuttle, Commack's Kevin Kim, Danny Brown, Chris Grisolia and Chris Caracciolo placed 16th (32.17), while Uniondale's Christopher Armour, Nyder Chardonette, Jahton Anderson and Christopher Stephenson took 21st (32.80).

Uniondale's Glen Forsythe finished sixth in the long jump with a leap of 22-11.25.

In Friday's Emerging Elite 2-mile, Massapequa's Andrew Valenski won in 9:15.94, nearly five seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.

St. John the Baptist's 4x800-meter relay of Hunter Burrell, Sean Ferguson, Seitu Solomon and Brandon Camenzuli finished third (7:48.74). Chaminade's 4x800 relay of Matthew Woop, George Starkie, Daniel Ebanks and Dillon Schwartz finished seventh (7:52.81).